The facade of the KPN office that Lichtvormgevers in 2001 used to create a huge billboard was at that time the biggest in the world and was a novel approach to the possibilities of facade lighting. The most advanced software in 2001 made it possible to create abstract images and simple time-lapse-video's on the facade of the building. The KPN building became a landmark alongside the Maas river in Rotterdam. Nowadays much more advanced LED billboards pop up everywhere, the KPN facade was one the first!
Light design, engineering and realization
Lichtvormgevers designed the lighting fixtures. The dimension and grid of the fixtures make the resolution, at that time this was a huge innovation. The symmetrical grid of 1000 light pixels creates animations which are visible form the Maasboulevard. The light source used was in 2001 also a novelty. The Planon light source was special designed for computer monitors, had a life time of 50.000 operating hours, could be dimmed up to 10% and was extremely resistant against on and off switching. For this project with a facade of more than 45 meters high these characteristics were necessary for a viable and payable long term solution.
